Karen Hough

Karen Hough is the founder and CEO of ImprovEdge and has used improvisation as a catalyst for business training and consulting since 1998. ImprovEdge won the silver International Stevie Award for Most Innovative Company of the Year in 2012.

Hough was recognized in 2016 as an Inspiring Woman by the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and won the WBENC Pitch Pivot Award in 2020 in the first virtual competition of its kind. Her book, "The Improvisation Edge: Secrets to Building Trust and Radical Collaboration at Work" was a No. 1 Amazon bestseller in its category and an 800-CEO-Read Top 25 business book. Hough is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Inc. magazine, and Investor’s Business Daily. Her second book, "Be the Best Bad Presenter Ever: Break the Rules, Make Mistakes and Win Them Over," published in 2014, won the Benjamin Franklin Gold Award. Her third book on using improvisation to drive innovation, "Go with It: Embrace the Unexpected to Drive Change," was published in 2017.

Hough is the recipient of the Athena PowerLink Award for outstanding woman-owned business and was named a semifinalist in TechColumbus’ Innovation Awards 2011 for Outstanding Service. She is the creator and author of the Yes! Deck, "Managing Tough Conversations: The Everyday Coaching Model," and the author of numerous articles and blogs, including publication in ASTD’s T&D magazine, Mashable and Business Insider. Hough is a Certified Speaking Professional and is a national and international conference keynote speaker on topics such as the hybrid present and future, negotiation, DEI, leadership, executive presence and sales.

ImprovEdge is a government-certified women’s business enterprise and Hough served on the board of Key Bank’s Key4Women initiative, the board of WELD, Women for Economic and Leadership Development, and the board of The Matriots Ohio. Hough serves on the CAPA board, the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts. Hough was honored as a Deloitte & Touche Wise Woman for their inaugural breakfast event in Columbus, Ohio, and represented women entrepreneurs for the State of Ohio for the Saitama, Japan, women’s contingent.

Hough is a graduate of Yale University and La Sorbonne, Paris IV. She worked for many years as a senior sales executive in the network engineering industry in New York and Chicago. Hough originated and expanded the sales and management efforts of three separate technology start-ups, launched partner programs and assisted in East Coast and national expansions.

Hough has been a professional improviser and actor for 30 years. Her improvisational training and performance credits include more than 100 live productions with Second City of Chicago, Metraform/Annoyance Theatre, the Organic Theatre and the Purple Crayon of Yale, among others. Formerly the international spokesperson for Stratacom and a spokesperson for Tivoli and Infiniti, Hough's TV and radio credits include CBS, Miller, Earthshare, Eli Lilly and S.C. Johnson.

Since 1998, ImprovEdge principles and exercises have been vetted through research projects led by Hough with MBA students at the Wharton School, Ohio State University, University of Massachusetts and Otterbein University.

Hough is deeply committed to volunteer activities and philanthropy. She is a mentor for the Otterbein Women’s Network Initiative, and a portion of ImprovEdge profits is donated each year to support arts education through the CAPA Education Fund and the Marquis Awards, the American Heart Association, Computers for Youth, the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, Kiva and DonorsChoose. Her volunteer activities include teaching improv classes for high school students in rural Kansas and confidence-building workshops for Chicago public schoolchildren. Hough is a former board member of the Yale Whim 'n Rhythm Alumnae Association and is a volunteer for the Yale Alumni Schools Committee and the Yale Alumni Fund.